Trentonian: The lives of hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans are about to be destroyed.

The Trentonian newspaper put out a warning yesterday…

Attention fellow New Jerseyans: We are about to get screwed like we've never been screwed before by state Sen. President Steve Sweeney, the rest of the legislature, and Governor Phil Murphy.

…I need you to understand bill S4204, introduced by Sweeney in November, and fast-tracked for passage in the coming weeks. In short: It will eliminate the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans. Plain and simple.

The bill would upend the current system of people who operate as independent contractors. Basically, you won’t be allowed to offer your services unless you’re hired as an official employee of the business. That’s a simplistic reading of the bill, but that’s it in a nutshell.

For example: Let’s say you’re a kindergarten teacher and, on the side, you’re a wedding photographer. Maybe you shoot four or five weddings a year, and you get the work through Jimmy’s Wedding Photo Emporium. You like photography, you like weddings, it’s a fun little side gig for you, and Jimmy pays you $200 a wedding, and you’re happy. Or maybe you’re not a teacher; maybe you’re a stay-at-home mom trying to make a few bucks. Maybe you’re a college student looking to pay down your debt. Maybe you’re retired and you enjoy taking pictures. Doesn’t matter; unless Jimmy hires you as an employee, you will not be allowed to shoot weddings for him. You cannot be an independent contractor of wedding photography anymore.

So.

Are you a photographer? A truck driver owner-operator? A freelance writer? A tree trimmer? A dog groomer? A lawyer? A locksmith? A tow-truck driver? A million other things? Yeah. You’re screwed.

And woe is the small business owner, because this cuts both ways. Remember Jimmy, our old pal from Jimmy’s Wedding Photo Emporium? Yeah, he won’t be able to afford to hire all these employees, won’t be able to afford the taxes that go along with having all these employees. So yeah. If you’re Jimmy - or any small business owner that hires people to do piecemeal work, guess what? You’re screwed.

You can read Jeff Edelstein’s entire column here: https://www.trentonian.com/news/the-lives-of-hundreds-of-thousands-of-new-jerseyans-are/article_91e95642-0c08-11ea-a16d-e311dc18d1ae.html

Why are they doing this in the face of data that clearly indicates the current structure helps working mothers and others? United States Census data has chronicled this common route back to work for women trying to balance motherhood with gainful employment. And there is a large academic literature on the subject. As New Jersey 101.5’s Bill Spadea noted:

That's right, If you're a working mom who took some time off to have and raise your children, you may be at risk.

The latest attack on our economy from the radicals in Trenton is a new bill that would all but eliminate the ability for a person to work as an independent contractor in New Jersey…

The restrictions placed on employers in order to essentially force them to hire W2 employees only will be most hurtful to working moms. So many mothers need the flexibility of returning to work and controlling their own hours like ride share drivers, food delivery, special education providers, among many, many others.

As we know, the so-called 'gender pay gap' is a very complicated issue and has everything to do with choices many women make to stay home with their kids for a number of years. Naturally, returning to the workforce after a gap in experience results in reduction in pay as many women are essentially starting again. The idea of returning to work as an independent contractor offers the kind of additional income and flexible hours, which empowers moms to continue managing their homes, balancing child care and of course, paying NJ taxes.

We heard from Alida Kass on Monday from the NJ Civil Justice Institute prior to her testifying before the Assembly committee discussing the new law. Then Jon Bramnick, the recently re-elected Assembly Minority Leader, explaining that this is all about new taxes for NJ businesses and another reason that many business owners will look to leave NJ. They can simply head across the river to PA or DE and not pay the additional taxes at all.

Read More: Murphy's and Sweeney's new tax target: Moms returning to work

Hear Bill Spadea interview Alida Kass…

The NFIB noted that the New Jersey Democrats are merely copying a California law that totally screwed working mothers and small businesses in that state, but apparently those pushing this legislation don’t care. The only kind of business they favor is the crony capitalist kind – businesses big enough to collect corporate welfare and then kick-back to the right politicians and their superPACs. Real dirtbag stuff.

Hopefully there’s a Republican on the horizon who will stand up for moms and cut the nuts off these Democrats.